Why Austin is THE Hot Destination to Move To

by Alonda Atwood

Lawnstarter has rounded up pretty much all of the rankings Austin has been on in the last 3 years and why it makes Austin such an attractive place to be in one Infographic. Read on to find out why 150 people move to Austin every day.

The number one reason for the population growth is Austin's booming economy. In 2013, Bloomberg ranked Austin as the #1 Top American Boomtown and Forbes ranked it as the #1 Best City for Jobs. In 2014, Forbes put Austin at #2 on its "Best Cities for Future Job Growth" list and NerdWallet ranked it at #1 City for Job Growth. Austin saw 22% GDP Growth from 2008 to 2012 and unemployment has steadily declined since 2010. Our unemployment rate is 3.8%, compared to the national average of 5.8% and 4.9% in Texas. Austin was also ranked number 1 Best Performing City in the Milken Institute's annual assessment of Where America's Jobs are Created and Sustained.

Austin has one of the country's top tech-startup scenes and was ranked #1 on Entrepreneur's Top Startup Cities by Cost and Taxes, #1 Top Cities for Young Entrepreneurs by Under30CEO, and #7 Top Cities for Women Entrepreneurs by Nerd Wallet.

Austin has an extremely high quality of life, particularly because of its opportunities for outdoor recreation. It came in #3 on the Top Ten Cleantech Cities, #9 on the best performing metros in the U.S. Metro Clean Tech Index, and #14 on the American Fitness Index in 2014. Bicycling Magazine ranked it one of "America's Best Bike-Friendly Cities and both Lady Bird Lake and Barton Springs Pool are absolute local treasures. The ATX is also the #1 Greenest City in Texas according to EnvironmentTexas.org and #6 Most Energy Efficient City in the US according to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.

Our fair city gets big points as being an awesome place to be young or old. Parenting.com placed it at #2 on its list of Best Cities to Raise a Family, Niche put it at #2 for Best Cities and Neighborhoods for Millennials, and it was ranked on Forbes' Top Retirement Cities list. We have the #3 Lowest violent crime rate in America as of 2012. Kids can get a great education too: US News ranked 8 Austin-area high schools in its top 500 high schools in 2014, and UT was on the Princeton Review's Best Value Colleges for 2012. Their Computer Engineering department was ranked #5, Accounting #1, and Mechanical Engineering #10.

Another great thing about Austin: you'll never be bored! Austin is #1 for zip codes with the most places to drink alcohol, #6 Best nightlife scenes in the USA according to US News, plus there seems to be a festival every other weekend. Between Austin City Limits, SXSW, Fun Fun Fun Fest, X Games, Austin Film Festival, Old Pecan Street Festival, and Formula 1, there's something for everyone! Plus we are Food Truck Heaven and as of 2012, there were 1,400 registered mobile food vendors in Travis County. That number has probably quadrupled by now!

Finally, Austin has a low cost of living relative to income. The Median Home Price as of November 2014 was $245,000, whereas the national median was $280,900, putting Austin on CNN's "Best Cities for Millennial Homebuyers" list. The average one bedroom apartment rents for $1,068.86 and the average income is $74,860, making Austin #1 on Yahoo's 2014 list of best cities for high pay and low expenses.

Are you one of those 150 new Austinites that landed in town today? Overwhelmed by the rental market? Apartment Experts South can help for free with our expert knowledge of vacancies, move-in specials and amenities at all the best Austin addresses. Give us a call today at 512-416-8100.